Note: I (Dan) did not realize that this was a vendor talk until about 2/3's of the way through the talk. Primarily because he didn't talk about the product until he had quite compellingly made his points about academia being too focused on credits. I will not summarize his arguments here, but I will make his slides available when I get them.

eLumen

(www.elumen.info)

Key Points

Currently universities are run as if "Credits" are the only thing that matter
He makes the argument that

This is the source of most problems in academia

It is too integral to be removed

His solution: Modify the model by adding a second "currency" - Student Outcomes

ePs play a large role in tracking this currency (as well as rubriks and tracking)

Using their product, eLumen, "If you enter all the data, you get assessment with the click of a button

• e-portfolios can address all the learning that is not captured by credit-grade system
• degree should be defined by learning outcomes rather than credit accumulation
• eP can track student progression through learning outcomes
• comparison between outcomes and credits can show shortfalls that the credit system does not

heavy use of rubrics across campus to track learning outcomes addressed by individual courses

[this is where I (Gwen) start to see problems for implementation: seems to force all faculty into cookie-cutter use of rubrics; seems to be all about assessment; I would anticipate pushback]